AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The Marchettis were making it seem that they had admitted defeat and that La Strega's grandsons had chosen to run away in the wake of Giancarlo's disappearance.
And because everyone knew that it was inevitable for a divided house to fall, those consumed by greed would fail to realize that Boston was but bait—-or that every brother would be working in the shadows while patiently waiting for their enemy to reveal itself.
It was an exquisitely intricate plan, but Lorenzo couldn't help thinking it was pointlessly complicated as well.
"You can amass your own army if you wish to. So why don't you?"
"Because we all took an oath," Cesare answered simply. "Violence is no longer our first answer to everything. But we still have our ways, only it takes more time and planning."
"And now that you are a part of our famiglia," the matriarch reminded him, "our oath is yours as well."
He almost smiled at this. La Strega very well knew that her oath was no different from the code he had chosen to live by since his release. But because his reputation preceded him wherever he went, most people were disinclined to believe this and chose to remain blind even when evidence presented the contrary.
"I'm not sure when we'll see each other again. But what I do know is that such a day will come, and we will have Giancarlo with us then."
It was the matriarch saying goodbye, but not once did Potenziana's voice crack as she uttered every word, and her expression remained dignified as she rose to her feet.
She was the first to leave, followed by Sarica, Ezio, and Cattleya.
The other couples followed behind them one by one.
And then it was just him and Gazelle.
His wife.
She was still seated on the couch, her hands clasped loosely on her lap.
Her heart-shaped face revealed none of her thoughts, but even so.
Just looking at him had his heart clenching hard, and Lorenzo slowly found himself crouching down on one knee.
And there it was.
A flash of terror in her eyes, gone so quickly that if he didn't have years to hone his instincts, he would have been convinced he had only imagined seeing it.
She was terrified, and rightly so.
Life as she had always known it had come to its abrupt and untimely end, and none of them even knew how long it would take before it was the "right" time for her to return home.
He reached for her hands.
"I will keep you safe, wife."
She nodded.
"And one day, you will be with your family again."
Her gaze lifted to his.
But this time, instead of a turbulent shade of gray, her eyes were blue as the ocean, twin pools of trust that went far deeper than before.
"Thank you."
Her voice was soft and remarkably gentle, for someone whose childhood had been a bloodbath of murder and betrayal.
"I owe it to your grandmother. She's the reason I was pardoned."
Her lips parted in shock. "I didn't know."
